K-Pop

February 1, 2014

Gr 4-8-Popular music has always been a part of the cultural landscape, from the Beatles, the Jackson Five, and, more currently, One Direction. K-Pop, or Korean Pop, has been a staple in South Korea since the 1960s, but with the arrival of Psy and his "Gangnam Style" video in 2012, it has seen worldwide success and been introduced more prominently into the Western world. This highly accessible text focuses on K-Pop from the 1960s to the modern day, highlighting some of the biggest artists and most influential record labels. Much like K-Pop's fast-paced, bubblegum style, the book is filled with an explosion of colorful photographs that gives readers a glamorized view of the life of a K-Pop artist. Each chapter ends with a mini discography featuring the most popular songs of the artists introduced in the chapter. The addition of a selected bibliography featuring several websites and blogs makes this book a great tool for students wanting to do a report on a fresh and exciting topic. An appealing addition for readers who wish to know more about artists like Psy, Girls' Generation, 2NE1, and Rain.-Krishna Grady, Darien Library, CT

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2014
A breezy but flawed introduction to Korean pop music for novice fans. While many Americans only discovered Korean pop music, also known as K-Pop, when Psy's music video for "Gangnam Style" went viral on YouTube in 2012, it has been popular worldwide for over a decade. This primer follows the development of K-Pop from the 1950s to the present, focusing mostly on the last 20 years. Through profiles of influential artists--including Seo Taiji, Rain, Girls' Generation and Psy-- Kallen describes the "factorylike" star systems at Korea's major labels and the phenomenon of Hallyu, the "wave" of global interest in Korean pop culture that began in East Asia in the late 1990s. Numerous color photos and playlists of artists' representative songs add interest for teens. However, knowledgeable readers will note that the author overstates some artists' impacts, overlooks other major musicians completely and appears to have only a rudimentary knowledge of Korean culture, perhaps due to his reliance on non-Korean, English-language sources. One example of this is the author's incorrect use of the Japanese term "anime" to describe Korean animation. Though English-language books on Korean pop culture are unfortunately quite rare, only complete newbies will find this overview informative. (glossary, recommended albums, source notes, selected bibliography, further reading, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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December 15, 2013
Grades 5-8 While most Americans have only been aware of Korean pop, or K-pop, music since the infectious 2012 hit song Gangnam Style by Psy, it is a genre that has been widely popular since the 1990s. Its sudden notoriety marks a global trend called Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, which encompasses not only music but also other pillars of pop culture, such as movies and television, cuisine, and Korean cartoon art known as manhwa. This colorful, informative book is a study in cultural diffusion that began with American GIs during the Korean War and then continued through the repression of Park Chung-hee's regime and into today's rise of South Korea as an economic powerhouse. The growing global awareness of K-pop is a testament to the influence of social media, and an interesting study in how cultural trends are spread over time. Though technically a book about a specific genre of music, this straightforward text also serves as a history of modern Korean culture and the phenomena of globalization.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Kallen explains that South Korean K-Pop is not just Psy's "Gangnam Style": "K-Pop artists have been performing and recording...since the 1990s." The book then chronologically describes the artists (and record labels) that made K-Pop successful. It's a comprehensive introduction to the genre, accompanied by well-chosen stock photos and sidebars; a playlist of recommended songs concludes each chapter. Reading list, websites. Bib., glos., ind.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)